My Hometown

Over the past several days I’ve watched acquaintances discuss the fiscal difficulties of my hometown in upstate New York.  This is an area rich in history, and strong in its Liberal traditions of promising great changes in society, then funding them with other peoples money.  When the area had a strong industrial base, corporate taxes probably made up the lion’s share of income for the townships, county and perhaps the state.

Val Kill

At one point in time, during the 1970’s, International Business Machines (IBM) accounted for over 60 percent of the employment in Dutchess County, those incomes trickled down to fund the car dealerships, shopping centers, grocery stores and pizza shops.  There are two mid-size cities, but the majority of the county is divided into large townships, each with a corresponding town center.  The rural areas have, or had, a healthy farming basis with corn and dairy being what I remember.  The towns are, for all practical purposes, small bedroom communities with native residents being augmented with middle class and upper middle class workers from NYC who have migrated north because the cost of a home in this area was significantly less then it was closer to the city.  As they moved north they brought home prices up, because they increased demand and had the income to pay the higher prices.  With the higher property prices, assessed values continued to climb.  With the rapid escalation of home values I have to believe speculation began to work its way into the homeowner mindset.  Buy this house, stay in it a few years, and sell for a big profit, buying an even more expensive home, until one day the bubble burst.

Vanderbilt Estate

Hudson River State Hospital

Hyde Park was one of those bedroom communities, but for a small township it has an incredible amount of land that cannot be developed, or has been removed from its taxable base.  There are three National Park locations, a world renown cooking school on property that was once a seminary, a second seminary that is now some kind of new-age retreat, not to mention the churches, church camps, and state properties like, the portions of Hudson River State Hospital (now shuddered).  Other townships have similar situations with the several colleges, like Vassar, or Marist, and a number of smaller schools like Bard taking property off the tax rolls.

So this community moves along, struggling to find the dollars necessary to provide a viable infrastructure.   In the 1950’s and 60’s it was a pretty thriving little town.  There were new school buildings going up, new infrastructure being built, and the town board and school board running merrily along.  

But things are not always as they seem.  I can remember my first experience with failed urban planning when the City of Poughkeepsie, in an effort to compete with those new strip malls being build in the townships, closed its main street and turned it into a pedestrian only “mall” so shoppers could move freely from store to store.  Only all the shoppers had moved to the new stores in the strip malls and then the covered mall.  What was left became a haven for the homeless and drug addicts.

Culinary Institute of America

But year after year there was state and federal money, and of course IBM to pay the bills for the promises the politician’s made to get elected.  Then one day everyone woke up and IBM was not there.  Its leadership had failed to see the change brought by Apple and Microsoft and it went from being the dominant force to something akin to a Packard automobile.  The best of breed in its day, but now just a memory.  I would note that as I write this IBM appears again on the verge of another bankruptcy because its leadership cannot keep up with the speed of business.

So, where does this leave us?  The school board, in an effort to save funding to pay their teachers and I assume keep the school district solvent is looking to close some of the older schools.  Those affected by this are, of course, distraught and can’t imagine why this should be allowed.  Others are less than sympathetic as they consider the amount of taxes they pay on their property each year.  For example, look at these two moderately priced homes (for the area) 4 Dana Place and 261 S Quaker Lane and you will see property taxes range from $6,000 to $10,000.  Perhaps I am spoiled but I live in an area where my property tax is a fraction of that, but then teacher salaries here don’t average $57, 354 per year either.

The town infrastructure appears to be in a state of decay, as they can no longer afford improvements, as the bills come due from the promises they have made in years past.  There is no industry to provide jobs for the young, or to fuel an aging economy.  The expectations remain and I would guess the politicians will continue to promise a bright future where other peoples money will make everything okay, because no one wants to elect someone who tells them the truth, they will elect someone who says what they want to hear.  

I am saddened as I watch this unfold, but as long as we believe larger government is the answer to our problems towns like Hyde Park will continue to decline.  As the President has said, governments exist to do things we can't do for ourselves.  Unfortunately in this case I am not sure my hometown benefits from that bigger government largess.